View clinical trials related to Concussion, Brain.
Filter by:Concussion incidence in high school and collegiate sports is high, especially in football. Once diagnosed, return to play is dependent on recovery from symptoms followed by a specific protocol for clearance; the sooner the symptoms subside the sooner the protocol is initiated. Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy (OMT) is a low risk procedure that has minimal side effects and has been used to decrease both headache intensity and frequency. With the main subjective symptom tracked for concussion being headache, OMT may be used to decrease the severity and the duration of this symptom.
About 300,000 people are hospitalized for traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year. After TBI, secondary brain injury escalates due in part to heightened levels of oxidant injury, inflammation, and vascular injury. Traumatic cerebral vascular injury (TCVI) may begin almost immediately after the primary injury and evolve into chronic neurodegenerative conditions. TCVI is a very complex TBI endophenotype and microvascular injuries have been described in a plethora of animal and human TBI studies. These injuries consist of endothelial injury, disruption of the blood brain barrier (BBB), a reduction of capillary density, intravascular microthrombi, and white-matter degeneration. Recently, use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) combined with hypercapnia (high spatial and temporal resolution) by our research group has proven to be more sensitive at measuring alterations of cerebral blood flow (CBF) in TBI subjects. The goal of the proposed research is to test the efficacy of Viagra® (sildenafil) at normalizing CBF and improving cognitive outcomes in people that have experienced a TBI. Sildenafil is a phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitor that has previously been administered as a therapy for high blood pressure and erectile dysfunction. In people that have been affected by stroke-induce neurotrauma, sildenafil improved CBF and was found to be neuroprotective. With respect to chronic TBI, previous studies have demonstrated that sildenafil therapy potentiates cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) in areas of the brain with damaged endothelium. In this proposal, the investigators will test the hypothesis that sildenafil treatment in boxers/Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighters soon after concussion normalizes CBF, potentiates CVR, reduces post-concussion symptoms, and improves cognition.
This study will investigate the effect of structured, standardized aerobic exercise (AE) compared to usual care on clinical recovery from sport-related concussion (SRC) within the post-acute phase of injury. Participants will be randomized into one of two groups: (1) Supervised Exercise Group: participants will complete a total of eight exercise sessions over the course of 11 days, starting at Day 3 post-injury (two sessions (first and mid-point) will be done in the lab, and the remained will be home-based sessions); (2) Usual Care Group: individuals will undergo a period of physical rest and standard care. For the purposes of this study, "rest" will be defined as the avoidance of any activities beyond those of daily living, including participation in sport and physical activity.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether there is a difference in cerebral oxygenation as measured by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in children with concussion and healthy controls.